Cuddlers called on to care

Volunteers serve a small but necessary purpose

"Who doesn't like to hold a baby?" Marshall asked. "There's nothing better. I know it's good for them. The parents can't always be there, and it gives them peace of mind to know someone's holding them."

For cuddlers at Northwest Texas Hospital, just 30 minutes a day can make all the difference in the world. Babies in the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit at Northwest's Childcare Hospital have a special group of cuddlers who are just there to hold them.

NWTH's Cuddler Program is so popular, there's a three-year waiting list. Volunteers provide no medical care and are there solely for the cuddling. They come in when they're needed to hold medically stable babies in the ICU. Though nurses often hold the babies, cuddlers provide babies with extra "touch time."

"Babies, when they're being held comfortably, their oxygen level increases and their heartbeat decreases, because they're comfortable," said Northwest Texas' Becky Ringlbauer, child life specialist. "We remind our parents that we're not replacing them, we're just giving them (the babies) extra one-on-one attention."

Cuddlers go through background checks and an orientation. They're rarely left in a room alone with a baby for more than a few minutes. They're taught to watch the monitors and recognize when a baby's in trouble and how to notify a nurse.

Ringlbauer said cuddlers are also important because often a family can't stay with their baby through its entire stay.

There are a limited number of cuddlers. Ringlbauer said the hospital doesn't need that many.

"We're looking at our families who come from all over the Panhandle," she said. "Health care has changed a lot. We expect our families to be here and we have the Ronald McDonald House for out-of-town parents. Parents are more involved, more than they were. But they still have to go on, they have to pick up their other kids, go to work."

Marshall comes in as often as five or six times a week for an hour.

"We all wish that no babies end up in here. But, if they do, they're going to end up with all the love and care they can get," she said.

Kelli Hesse, Neo-natal RN, said she's seen how beneficial it can be.

"It helps them to grow and slows their breathing down. It's sad when our parents can't come and the baby lays in the crib," Hesse said.

Marshall watches the babies hit milestones from a rocking chair.

"They grow, some are so tiny. When I start holding them, they have so many tubes. Then, gradually, they have less tubes and then they'll start eating out of a bottle and then you'll see the milestones like smiling at me," she said. "I really believe they recognize me."